Lessons Learned from the First Capability Increment of the National Missile Defense (NMD) Battle Management/Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) Software,
Abstract
A demonstrator system for the Battle Management, Command, Control, and Communications element of the National Missile Defense system is being built in seven increments. This paper reports lessons learned from development of the first increment. Four lessons are discussed. First, a relatively informal requirements baseline, generated and iterated by the contractor, was found to meet the needs of the program. Second, benefits from use of object oriented methods and Ada 95 will not be realized until later increments. Third, there were successful alternatives to the reviews and documents eliminated in acquisition streamlining. Lastly, vigilance to keep process versus product emphasis in balance was needed. The aim of the National Missile Defense (NMD) program is to develop a system of systems with the capability to defend the nation from the threat of limited ballistic missile attacks. The decision to deploy the system will be made in FY99 or later based on the emergence of a rogue nation threat. Once a deployment decision is made, the program is structured to field an initial operational capability within three years. The Battle Management, Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) system is a key element of the overall NMD program. Its role is to tie together various ground and space based sensors with the ground based interceptor to give the warfighter the ability to defeat incoming attacks. This paper addresses lessons learned from development of the first incremental release of the BMC3 software.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA319955
Entities
People
- Charles K. Wilkinson
- Jeff Blank
- Mary L. Urban